“As I near the start of my tenth year at the helm of Pandora, I am incredibly proud of the team and what we have accomplished in redefining radio. As part of our Board discussions of the road that lies ahead, I reached the conclusion and advised the Board that the time is right to begin a process to identify my successor,” he said in a statement.

Prior to joining Pandora, Kennedy worked at E-LOAN as President and CEO and Vice President of Sales, Service and Marketing at Saturn.

Pandora says its board has formed a search committee that will turn to an executive search firm for help finding candidates as “expeditiously as possible.”

The Internet radio company reported revenue of $125 million, and a non-GAAP loss per share of $0.04 for the fourth quarter of 2012, besting analyst expectations of $123 million and a $0.05 loss. Mobile in particular was a positive for Pandora, as mobile revenue was up 111% year-over-year to $80.3 million and mobile listening hours increase 70% during the period. Though the company still posted a loss, investors were encouraged by the results, pushing shares of the company up over 19% in after-hours trading.

With over 67 million monthly active listeners, Pandora has grown into a sizable media company under Kennedy’s watch. The company boasts it is the largest radio station in most US markets, with an 8% share of overall radio listening in the country.